


Emeralds and Amethysts

by orphan_account



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-01
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-22 02:38:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 19,308
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/907893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account





	1. Shitty Beginnings

They couldn't do this to him, not _him_. Others, perhaps, were worthy of this foul treatment, but not him. He glared at the agents that gawked as he was led to his cell, flanked on all sides by SHIELD's second toughest group of fighters. He smirked to himself, as he remembered that they had not taken his magic, not yet. He could escape now if he really wanted to, but he'd rather play a game with the Avengers. He was walked roughly by the guards that surrounded him to the large room with windows for the observation of their prisoner in his circular cell. Loki sneered inwardly as he thought to himself, _'So, these are to be my quarters for the duration of my stay. I must remember to thank Nick Fury for allowing me my own room.'_ He held his head up proudly, not forgetting his false upbringing as a prince in Asgard. He was still bitter even after the long time it had been since he thought himself a son of the Allfather. No, Thor was the only one who could truly claim the name of Odinson. Loki was just the frost giant infant the mighty Odin had taken pity upon, raised with lies and trickery, no wonder that's all he became. A liar and a trickster.

Loki was startled out of his bitter thoughts but a rough push into the circular pen. He felt the bonds on his hands loosen and be pulled away quickly, leaving red marks and a sharp, stinging pain behind to linger on his wrists. He growled, long and low at the agents who had brought him here and very near assaulted him. They stepped back in slight fear, another quickly shutting and locking the nearly invisible door to the cell. They were given a last snarl, complete with bared teeth, as they scrambled over one another and looked back as they left. The mischief maker stalked over to the bench in the corner, nearly smashing into the wall of glass in his way. He stopped short, and saw a small handle. Curious, he opened it to see his own lavatory. _'Ah, Fury, you have thought of everything, no?'_ Loki smiled smugly as he looked over his shoulder at a small camera following his every movement from outside the cell. "Thank you, oh so kindly, for allowing me this small comfort," he drawled, a wayward lock of his coal black hair swinging in front of his left eye. He shook his head, still with the smug grin on his face, as if to say, _'Your efforts are, I'm afraid, wasted.'_  He sidestepped the small room with the one-way glass and then sat on the bench, one leg on it, bent at the knee, and the other stretched out in front of him. He smiled lazily and his eyes followed the agents walking past in varying outfits and states of agitation. He managed to lie down on the bench, just barely fitting his long body on it. He smirked and fell into a light sleep, the smirk never leaving his face.

"Loki, get up. It's chow time." The voice echoed in his head, making him groggily sit up, glaring at the supposed hero who was on Loki-watch today. "C'mon, I got places to be, people to see, booze to drink, get a move on." Tony Stark was fiddling with the control panel, only glancing up to see if the prisoner was awake. He nodded a little when he saw Loki was up and said only one word, "Catch." Loki was confused for a moment, but looked up and caught the capsule of food before it hit the floor of his cell. He shot Tony a puzzled look, to which he got an exasperated sigh and a command to "open it up and eat already." Loki did as he was told with a sneer, and found a meal of Midgardian food which consisted of something the package called Pop-Tarts, a small jug of orange juice, and a small slice of warmed white bread. Loki sniffed at the Pop-Tarts carefully, then took a small nibble and found it contained no poison and no drugs. He ate the rest greedily, consumed the second one and drank down the orange juice just as quickly and then slowed his eating of the bread just to irritate Tony.

"You know, Anthony, you and I are not all that different," Loki said, trying to strike up a conversation, keeping his eyes on his bread as he turned it over in his long, pale fingers. "We both have what we really want. Power. Mine comes in the form of my magic, and yours in your money and that ridiculous suit."

Tony stiffened at the god's words. "You and I are nothing alike. And, if memory serves, that 'ridiculous suit' whooped some Chitauri ass and launched a nuke back into a portal, killing all of those stupid aliens." He spun on his heel and stomped to the cell. "And another thing, if it weren't for the suit, you would still be free, and I'd be dead. So, just remember that it was the suit that brought you here to you prison and it's the suit that'll keep you in it." Tony spat.

Loki did nothing but smirk the entire time, and when he stood up and strolled over to face Tony, he said nothing. Just gave him a pointed look and turned, his deep green cape billowing behind him as he walked around the cell. "You know," Loki mused. "In Asgard, cursing is considered one of the most vulgar things one can do. Especially in the presence of a woman. Wouldn't you say, Agent Romanov?" He turned, grinning at the redheaded woman leaning against a door frame looking entirely bored with the whole ordeal.


	2. Who's That Girl?

Natasha was shocked, to say the least, that Loki heard her slink into the room. Nobody ever heard her. But then again, this was Loki, not nobody. She pursed her lips and crossed her arms across her chest while glaring at the fallen god with utter hatred. She took small, deliberate, controlled steps until she reached the catwalk that led to Loki's cell. She grabbed a metal folding chair and slammed it down before sitting in it herself. "So, this is what you've been reduced to. A sniveling mass of garbage, only serving a single purpose that you've created for yourself. A purpose that is not real and not glorious, and therefore not your burden." The Russian continued glaring while she said this in a tone that chilled even Nick Fury. All Loki could do was smile as she ranted on about something or another.

Tony saw that things were about to get real ugly real fast, so he transported the food capsule back out, fiddled with the controls one more time, and got back to the lab he and Bruce shared on the helicarrier. Loki watched as Tony scampered out of the room, the arc reactor lighting up the dark corridor as he went. The god let his eyes wander over the room, really looking at it for the first time. He noticed there had been some small changes from when he was here last. They had reinforced the doors, the windows, the everything. ' _Probably the work of Stark and Banner.'_  Loki thought, as his eyes fell upon a slight figure in the doorway that Natasha had just occupied. He stared at her, trying to see what features the shadows hid. He stood up, and walked towards her, only stopping when he smashed face-first into the panel of glass. He narrowed his eyes in anger and Natasha was on her feet, ready to fight. "Relax, Romanov," Loki grumbled. "I was just trying to get a better look at our... Newest guest," he explained, shooting a wicked grin at both the agent and the mystery person.

Natasha spun around, then saw that it was only the newest member of SHIELD's Avengers Initiative, a small girl with dark hair and remarkable eyes. She was standing, arms akimbo and feet planted, staring Loki down as she walked into the light. Natasha let out a sigh of relief and began to make the introductions. "This is-"

"I'm Agent Liv Atkinson, and I can speak for myself, Agent Romanov. Thank you very much, but I really don't think I'll need any help here. You, Loki, can call me Agent Atkinson. I know all about your antics and your powers. I know your strengths and your weaknesses. There is nothing about you that I do not know." Liv stepped forward one last time, arms now crossed in a defiant manner, muscles tense like she was just aching to hit something. The girl's violet eyes became darker with anger as she noticed that Loki was trying to keep from laughing at her. "What are you laughing at?"

Loki chuckled and shook his head to show he couldn't speak at present. He held up a finger and staggered back to his bench, and laughed himself into a fit. Once he had calmed down, he swiped at his eyes and looked up into the purple ones fixed upon him. "Foolish mortal, there is no man or woman who knows what I am fully capable of. Even I do not know fully, but my body knows and every day it grows stronger and stronger. I will be the ruler of Midgard, and Asgard as well. I will rule all realms and once I dispose of the Avengers, there will be no one to stop me." Emerald held amethyst, each pair of eyes like two bright jewels in the harsh light. Natasha looked anxiously between the two raven haired persons in her care.

"Oooh...kaay... Well, Agent Atkinson and I will be leaving now if you don't mind, Loki. I'll be sending somebody along to look after you for the next hour or so. Maybe." Black Widow grabbed the girl by her small shoulders from, causing Liv to jump and Natasha to nearly getting a solid left hook to the face. "We need to work on your nerves, little miss," she said, steering the angry woman away from the snorting god. Loki couldn't help himself, the girl was funny when she got mad. _'Funny and cute,'_ he thought. _'Gah! What am I thinking? She is nothing but an expendable mortal.'_ Loki shook his head, trying to clear it before any Avengers showed up. That was the last thing he needed, for Thor to come in and try to talk to him.

* * *

"And did you see the smug look on his face? God, it just makes me so angry!" Liv stomped back and forth in front of a large table that was used for meetings, but now gave three people a place to sit while they exchanged looks at one another. She stopped mid-step, her eyes scanning the faces of Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner, and Steve Rogers. "Barton, I know you're up there so just come down already!" Liv screamed at the man curled up in a little nook that he had made his perch in the rafters. Agent Barton rolled his eyes, unfolded his legs and jumped down, landing next to Natasha without so much as a little flinch on her part. The newest agent tensed up, and cocked her head. She looked pleased for a second, then nodded. "They're coming," was all she said. Bruce furrowed his brow, then a look of comprehension replaced the one of confusion as two pairs of heavy footsteps and one pair of softer ones came from outside the door.

"To which the Warriors Three merely assumed she was jesting and then when Lady Sif showed up that night in her finery, they were all at a loss for words!" Thor boomed, and followed it up with a roar of laughter as the door opened. Tony gave a forced chuckle that fell flat and Nick Fury only rolled his one good eye at the god and the inventor as they took their seats.

"Agent Atkinson." Fury gave the newest agent a curt nod and motioned for her to take her seat. The only one open was the one that Phil Coulson used to sit in and when she stopped short, she saw the sadness in her teammates' eyes.

"Um, I'll just stand, Director. I'm more comfortable in the shadows, y'know." Liv said, hurrying over to a dark corner of the room, and settling against the wall. Clint looked from her to Fury back to her again. He raised his hand like a child in school with a pained expression on his face. When the director pointed at him, he dropped his arm and Fury told him to hurry up and ask his question. "If she can stand over there, why can't I sit up there?" Hawkeye cried in anguish as he threw his arm back up, pointing to his perch high in the rafters.

"Because she can see the screen from the corner and no matter how good a sniper you are, you can't see it from up there," was all the archer got in response. The one eyed man turned and messed with a few dials and buttons before the SHIELD logo was replaced with stills of their battle with the Chitauri and Loki that SHIELD took from random security cameras around Manhattan. Liv gazed in awe at the display of her teammates' fighting skills. Quickly, she remembered that any one of them could kill her here and now if they knew who she truly was. She shook her head to clear it before returning her attention to Fury's words.


	3. Is It A Musical Now?

Loki hummed to himself, a song he had been sung by Frigga, his adoptive mother when she cradled the small boy in her arms with a toddling Thor gazing at his baby brother. " _Himmelen er mørk og åsene er hvite. Som storm-kongen hastigheter fra nord i natt; Og dette er sangen stormen-kongen synger, som verden kappen hans hiver han: 'Sov, sove, lille, søvn;' Han rasler sine vinger og barsk synger: 'Søvn, lille, søvn._ '" The god of mischief sang softly, remembering his favorite verse, his voice echoing slightly against the glass walls of the cell. Loki smiled and sang the verse in English, grateful for the tutorship he had gotten as a prince. "The sky is dark and the hills are white, as the storm-king speeds from the north to-night; And this is the song the storm-king sings, as over the world his cloak he flings: 'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep;' He rustles his wings and gruffly sings: 'Sleep, little one, sleep.'"

"Your voice has not changed in quality since your fall, brother." Thor rumbles from the doorway, surrounded on all sides by the rest of his team. Bruce looks happy for once, Tony, Clint, and Steve were in a state of shock. Natasha has an appreciative look on her face, Fury is apathetic as always, and Liv's violet eyes are alight with wonder. "Do you remember the rest, Loki? Shall we sing together?" The blond god prompts his red-faced, raven haired sort-of brother to join in a song.

"English or our native language, brother of mine?" Loki inquired, almost snidely, but not quite. All he got was a shrug from Thor, who motioned for the younger of the two to begin. Loki took a deep breath to steel his nerves and began on the next verse. "On yonder mountain-side a vine clings at the foot of a mother pine; The tree bends over the trembling thing, and only the vine can hear her sing:'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep; What shall you fear when I am here? Sleep, little one, sleep.'"

Thor smiles and begins to sing along. The air swells with the sounds of the two gods' voices, of Thor's deep baritone and of Loki's light tenor. The brothers join together in a last bout of deep breaths and loud voices accompanied by the melody conjured by Loki's magic. "The king may sing in his bitter flight, the pine may croon to the vine to-night, but the little snowflake at my breast liketh the song I sing the best, -'Sleep, sleep, little one, sleep; Weary thou art, anext my heart; Sleep, little one, sleep.'"

Loki shakes a little from his nerves and then smiles at Thor, who returns the weak grin with a broad one of his own. Liv's eyes are shining from the tears welling up in them, and then she quickly swipes at them with no one noticing. She thinks to herself, ' _I haven't heard singing so lovely as that since I was very small. I must learn the words to it, perhaps I'll have Thor teach me.'_ Then the agent's senses return and she shakes her head angrily at her own thoughts and actions. ' _You're such a fool! If one of them had seen me, they would've asked what was wrong. God, I'm so stupid! Idiot!'_ She screamed mentally at herself, joining in the slow applause the gods got from all of the Avengers, excluding Nick Fury.

"You sing well, Loki. And, unfortunately for us, you fight even better. I've got Stark working on something to fix that pesky magic problem of yours." Director Fury called out over his shoulder. "You _are_ working on that, aren't you Tony?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, of course." Tony looked up from his smartphone and looked around at his team before turning to Bruce. "Hey, uh, Banner. You know where I left those blueprints for the, eh, thing-y?"

"Ummm, nope. Haven't seen 'em. Sorry." the doctor shrugged his shoulders in a helpless manner and then shoved his hands into his pants pockets. Tony rolled his eyes and mumbled something about asking Jarvis about them when he got back home.

Steve coughed awkwardly and began rocking back and forth on his heels. "Um, so, why did you call us here, Director? I mean, I know that you were just yelling at us about our faults in fighting, but I don't see why we're," he looked around the room. "Here. Sir." Steve adds in quickly, still remembering his manners.

"Because, Rogers, we're moving." Fury snapped at his super soldier, glaring with one eye at each of them in turn. "We're relocating to Stark Tower. Whether Stark likes it or not."

"Uh, yeah. That doesn't work for me. I'm trying to rebuild it after what Reindeer Games did to my place. The last thing I need is for a god, two assassins, a giant green rage monster, Spangles here, and the new one to be all up in my space." Tony piped up, jerking a thumb over his shoulder and turning to face the group.

"Then build it bigger. Put in more rooms, set a floor or two aside for them. On a sub-level, put a room for Hulk, and below that put exactly what we have here for Loki. Understand?" Fury barked at Tony, clearly getting angrier.

"Wait, I can have my tower even bigger? Sweet! When are we moving?" Tony quickly became more excited as he realized that he could have an even flashier place to live.

Fury rolled his eye and began to fiddle with the control panel more. "I'm sending you another copy of the blueprints, Stark. They need to be followed to the letter. Banner, I want you to figure out how you'll be able to get to your safe room in case of an... _incident_. Got it?"

Bruce mock saluted. "Yes, sir." Then he turned and dragged the super happy Tony to the lab.

"Oh, I know! I'll get each room different colored lights on the windows so that at night it'll show the colors of the suits! No, not rooms, whole floors for everybody! You can get green and purple, and Spangles can get red white and blue, the patriotic bastard, and Spidey can have black and red. Legolas gets black and maybe purp-HMPH! MMPH!" The team was graced with the sound of the gentle doctor's hand clamping down over Tony's motormouth. They all gave a collective sigh of relief and turned back to the director.

"Alright, troops. I'll be sending you in small groups to the tower of the course of the week. Banner and Stark first, they're the least suspicious. Romanov and Atkinson, you'll be next, then Rogers, Thor and Barton, you stay here until the rest are settled and everything is ready. You will be escorting Loki to his quarters sometime after. Am I clear?"

"Crystal, boss man." Clint piped up, somehow on top of the cage. "The science bros, the ladies," he waggled his eyebrows at Tasha. "Captain 'Murica here, me and the gods."

Fury narrowed his eye and glared at his sharpshooter. "Listen, bird brain, I can have you outta this program faster than you can say 'bow and arrow' with your memory wiped clean." he growled at Barton.

Clint held up his hands in a gesture worthy of its own rage face. "Sorry, boss man. Won't happen again." He jumped down and straightened up, feet together, and one arm held stiffly against his side while the other was held up in a rigid salute. He still kept the cocky grin plastered on his face, 'till Tasha smacked him on the back of the head. "Ow, Nat. That really hurt..." He pouted like a child, pushing out his lower lip and making sure to let it tremble.

"Barton, quit with the theatrics. I know your game. Now go do whatever you do. Dismissed." Fury growled at his team, stalking off to whereverhe needed to glare at the new recruits. The Avengers went to their rooms, except Thor, who stayed behind to watch Loki. He cautiously approached the cell, Loki's green eyes focused solely on him.

"Brother, why do you do this? Why do you not see the error of your ways? Why do you not just plead for forgiveness? You know that it would be given by the Allfather. Your punishment would be greatly reduced. Perhaps I could convince him to repeat the punishment given to-"

"No!" Loki snarled, baring his teeth at the blond man opposite him. " _Your_ father would have no reason to be so kind to a monster such as myself. Look at me, Thor, really look. Tell me what you see." Loki took a shaky breath, and let the magic walls fall from around him. His skin turned an icy blue and his eyes were no longer emeralds, but rubies. "TELL ME!" Loki screamed, eyes watering in anger as Thor remained silent for far too long.

"I- I see my brother. A strong, prideful, silver-tongued liar and trickster. I see a powerful magician, full of anger, and fear, and hurt. I see... I see Loki Laufeyson, but that is not who he is to me. He is Loki Odinson, son of the Allfather and Frigga, his queen. Brother to the miserable excuse for a man, Thor Odinson. I see the young man who I have grown up with, my little brother. And I love him, my brother, because he has taught me that no matter what they are or what they look like, family is still family." Thor was nervous, as he saw the wet streaks of tears running down his brother's blue-skinned face, and felt the tears welling up in his own blue eyes. They fell slowly, warm, salty, and full of sadness as they glinted on his beard.

"Lies." Loki spat, slowly returning to his usual appearance. "How dare you try to lie to me: the god of mischief, of trickery, of lies. How dare you, Thor Odinson, try to lie to Loki Laufeyson who has lied his way out of everything for his whole life. How dare you stand there and preach to me about family, about how I am your brother, how you love me after all of those years allowing me to be in your shadow and never once caring about me, even though I had you banished, even though I have lied to you all our lives, even though you know I am a Jötun and you are an Asgardian and consider me your brother? How. _Dare_. You." Loki began crying again, frustration and anger making the tears fall heavier and faster. "How dare you, Thor Odinson? How dare you. How dare you..." He said, voice cracking, trying to force itself past the lump in his throat and coming out as no more than a raspy whisper. He kept repeating the phrase over and over, long after Thor had gone. Loki sat on the floor of his cell and wept, back against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and head resting on them. His tears soaked his pant legs, reddened his eyes, stained his pale cheeks, and made his thin nose run. He sobbed as he pulled his cape from behind him and stumbled over to the bench, using the green velvet as a blanket and to shield his tired eyes from the harsh light. Loki was a sniveling mess, his defensive walls broken, all from one conversation with Thor. He fell, exhausted, into a fitful sleep, weeping still.


	4. Clubbin'

It was the next week, Monday, and Tony and Bruce were preparing to leave the helicarrier for Stark Tower. Tony was in his Iron Man suit, having nothing with him but his thin smartphone in his jeans pocket and his favorite Black Sabbath t-shirt. Bruce was shifting his weight from one foot to the other nervously as he climbed into the small helicopter that Director Fury commanded him to fly in to get back to New York. There were bags stuffed with weapons in the back, leaving little room for the broad-shouldered doctor to fit in.

"Um, are you sure you want me in... This tiny little thing? I mean, what if... What if the Other Guy decides to come out play?" Banner mumbled to the floor, scraping the toe of his loafer on the smooth metal.

"Then make sure he doesn't." Fury snapped, watching the short, muscular man clamber awkwardly into the helicopter. "Now, get out of here and don't compromise this mission, _Stark_." Tony raised a metal-clad hand and saluted before taking off through the opening hatch. The copter followed suit, and the two flying machines sped off to Tony's home. The Avengers watched them take off, and Director Fury dismissed them quickly. The team gave a collective nod, and tromped off to their rooms. Liv and Tasha both went to Liv's room, just to talk over what they were going to do the next day when Tony and Bruce "met" them at the club.

"So, like, are we just gonna be sitting at the bar or whatever and then Tony and Bruce saunter over and start hitting on us?" Liv asked, throwing things into her bag as she went around her room. They all landed in with accuracy that even Barton would be proud of. Tasha sighed, and flopped back onto Liv's SHIELD-quality bed (which is to say, not that great) throwing an arm over her eyes.

"We go to club. Stark and Banner roll in. We giggle at them, flirt some. Banner's got you, Stark's got me," she made a face. "I dunno if I can take it, though. He'll be making backhanded compliments all night. No amount of Red Room and SHIELD training can prepare me for _Tony Stark_ to be hitting on me. Again."

"Don't worry, Tash. I think I'm the one who has to worry more. I mean, what if Banner Hulks out or he's super awkward and I still have to pretend like I'm interested?" Liv patted the redhead on the shoulder.

"Yeah. But you guys hung out here a bunch, watching your nerdy crap. I think he likes you."

“He does not!” Liv slapped Natasha on the shoulder lightly, admonishing her friend. “We just watched Star Wars and Star Trek. As _friends_. Just friends, nothing more. But I may have led him on a little,” Liv admitted, Natasha staring at her and then the two women broke down in laughter.

* * *

"Tony, I'm not so sure about this... I mean, what if I mess up and she laughs at me?" Bruce asked Tony nervously, pulling on the sleeves of his purple button down shirt. "I know it's just pretend, but still..."

Tony clapped Bruce on the back. "Don't worry about it, Big Guy. Even if Rookie hates your guts and laughs at you because you're so pitiful, she still has to come home with you." Tony grinned before his voice got muffled by the AC/DC shirt he was pulling on. "And maybe, just maybe, our quiet little doctor will be able to do the nasty with someone." Bruce blushed furiously, ducking his head down.

"Tony, don't..." Bruce mumbled, clearly embarrassed. The billionare just grinned again, and poured himself a glass of scotch. "Tony? Why are you drinking _before_ we get there?" Bruce shot him a confused look, knowing already that he wouldn't drink. He couldn't risk it, not after what had happened on the helicarrier. Tony had given him a shot glass with a burning liquid, told Bruce it was water and he was too wrapped up in his project that he couldn't care. Then everyone had started yelling, and he just lost it. He didn't remember much, just that he was angry and Natasha was a threat to him, and he attacked. Bruce cringed, knowing that his other half wasn't the most... reasonable  of people. Tony kept going on about how it was to help him loosen up "'cause how could anybody seriously hit on Natasha fuckin' Romanov? Besides Clint anyway." and here he snickered. Bruce shook his head and went down to the lab, the only place where he felt comfortable in the luxurious Stark Tower.

Tony started poking at Bruce, asking personal questions about his love life as he followed close behind. _“_ I know you like that new girl, Brucie. It's all over your face. You can't keep your eyes off her. It's so obvious,” Tony drawled, laying on a sofa he had in the lab. Bruce blushed, and mumbled something contrary to Tony's statements, and turned back to a small something he was working on.

"Sir," Jarvis called, "You will be late for your meeting with Agents Romanov and Atkinson if you do not depart within three minutes of now."

"Yes, thank you, Jarvis. Bruce and I were just about to leave." Tony grit his teeth at his patronizing AI, lying right through them.

"Of course, sir." Jarvis pretended to believe his creator, and went back to waiting until he was needed again. Tony and Bruce went to the garage, passing Pepper on her way out.

"Hey, Tony! Hey, Bruce!" Pepper called cheerily, waving at the men who were walking briskly by. Tony held up his hand as he kept walking and waved it a little while he pulled on his favorite sunglasses to protect his eyes from the light of the setting sun. Bruce actually stopped to talk to her, but was called by Tony from his car.

"Sorry, Pepper. I've got to go. I'll see you when you get back from that trip." Bruce smiled at Pepper and she returned it.

"Oh, Bruce? Make sure Tony doesn't overdo it with the drinking tonight, okay?" Pepper looked over at her business partner who was honking impatiently at his science bro.

"Sure thing, Peps." Bruce turned and slid into the passenger seat. He did nothing but stare straight ahead the entire time.

* * *

A yellow New York City cab pulled up in front of an exclusive club, and out of said cab emerged two feminine forms. Natasha and Liv stepped onto the curb and Tasha leaned over into the passenger side window, the low cut neckline of her slinky black dress showing off at least an inch of cleavage. The cabbie did all he could to not drool at the sight. Tasha smiled and handed him a twenty, then stalked away to the door of the club, Liv trailing behind.

Liv looked uncomfortable as she tugged on the hem of her short skirt. "I dunno, Tasha. I got a bad feeling about this..." She muttered, pulling up her shirt as well. Tasha swatted Liv's hands away from her clothes.

"Liv, quit it. You're gonna blow our cover." Tasha hissed back, getting them past the bouncer with minimal trouble. "Just get your wasted on. Relax a little, the guys'll be here soon." Not more than five seconds after she said this, did the club go completely silent and all heads were turned and focused on the door. Tony Stark had just strolled in, pulling off his shades and there was somebody else behind him. He wasn't famous, he had never been seen with Stark before. He was actually very plain. Bruce could hear the whispers, and kept his head angled down, only glancing up to see where Tasha and Liv had gone. He found them giggling and whispering to each other, glasses held in their hands. He nudged Tony's arm, and pointed over at the bar and also the girls.

Tony swaggered over to the bar, Bruce trailing behind him nervously. "Hey, ladies. You might know me, I'm Tony Stark." Tony grinned at them, leaning against the bar, oddly close to Natasha. She giggled and leaned in closer to Tony.

"Oh, I know who you are, Mister Stark." Tasha whispered, laying a hand over the arc reactor embedded in Tony's chest. She tapped it with one finger and then trailed the finger all around it. Bruce looked away from them, embarrassed once again and decided to chat Liv up instead.

"Please, call me Tony." The genius drawled, getting a few glasses of scotch for himself.

"Hey." Bruce stuck out his hand for Liv to shake. When she did, he said, "I'm Bruce. Bruce Banner."

She grinned at him, and let the words flow out of her mouth. " _Bruce Banner_ ," she breathed. "It sounds like it belongs in a poem. I'm Liv Atkinson. It's so nice to have met you, Bruce. Maybe we can make it even nicer later. What say you, Bruce?" Liv purred at the doctor, and all he could do was gulp.

"Sounds like a plan,” Bruce managed to choke out. “I think he's taken an interest in your friend over there," he stammered, and jerked his head at Tony and Nat who were currently dancing lewdly. "They're good actors, huh, Livvy?" Bruce leaned down and whispered in the agent's ear. She giggled and forced a blush like he had said something dirty.

"Not as good as I am." Liv whispered back, as she threw her arms around Bruce's neck and brought his face closer to hers. "Not nearly as good." Liv kissed him quickly, but made sure the point got across.

Bruce's eyes widened almost comically, and then it was over. He smiled while blushing and took Liv's hand then led her to the dance floor. They danced for what felt like an eternity, but was probably only half an hour. They left the dance floor, out of breath and exhausted, and instead got non-alcoholic drinks at the bar, found a table, and chatted for another hour. Liv yawned, and Bruce took the hint. He held Liv's hand within his own, and they walked to the dance floor where he tapped Tony on the shoulder and mouthed, ' _Let's go,'_ then started off towards the door. Tony grabbed Natasha around the waist and she giggled like a schoolgirl as he led her to the door. The four walked down the block to where Tony had parked and as soon as they were out of sight of the club, Natasha threw Tony's arm off of her, and Tony jumped into his car like she had the plague. Liv and Bruce slid into the backseat, which forced Tasha to sit up front with Tony.

"When we go past the club you'll have to look like you at least don't want to tear his intestines out through his ass, Nat." Liv piped up from the back as both of the people in the front shot her a death glare. Nat rolled her eyes, but complied with Liv's statement. She placed a hand on his upper arm, staring at him, forcing a laugh and looking like she couldn't be happier. She checked her mirror to see if anyone at the club could see them, and when she was sure they couldn't, she pulled her arm back as quickly as possible and crossed them.

"I hate you so much, Stark. You have no idea."

Tony chuckled, a deep, throaty sound and shot back, "Didn't seem that way when you were-" Tasha shot him _The Look_ and it was enough to get him to shut up for a little while at the very least. Bruce had put his arm around Liv when they got in the car, and he hadn't bothered to remove it. He noticed it, though, and quickly snatched it back to his side while mumbling a red-faced apology to the violet eyed agent.

"It's alright, Bruce," Liv murmured. "I didn't mind. It was actually kind of nice.” and Bruce nodded in agreement and before they knew it, they were all back at the tower. They said their good nights and went their separate ways for the night. Liv flopped onto the soft bed provided by Stark, and her lips curled up into a smile, the enchantments fading away to reveal a taller, more developed woman with the same dark hair and violet eyes, but her hair was longer, almost down to her waist. She was no longer Liv Atkinson, she was Asfrid, the apprentice of Loki Laufeyson, the secret daughter of the blacksmith and the chicken farmer's wife. And her plan was working perfectly.


	5. Aye, Aye, Cap'n!

Asfrid awoke to the sound of a very tired, very hungover Tony Stark stomping through the halls on his way to his floor. Why he didn't take the elevator was beyond her. She groaned and turned her head to the nightstand beside her bed. 5:30? God, that was too early. "Jesus Christ, Tony. Why can't you be normal for once?" She grumbled to herself, and got up. Long, tanned arms stretched far above her head, curly long brown hair was in a rat's nest on her head, long lean legs slid off the bed. She muttered a spell and felt herself shrinking. She dropped half a foot in height, her hair went back to her shoulders and straightened itself, and she dropped a cup size. She sighed happily as she strolled to the bathroom- _her_ bathroom. The newly changed Liv was ready for her day in less than half an hour. She shuffled to the elevator on her floor in one of her favorite t-shirts, a black one with a cartoon Death Star on it, and a pair of old gym shorts that doubled as pajama bottoms when she was too lazy to change. She hit the button for the Avengers' shared floor, an entire suite just like the others, only it had a kitchen.

"WHO THE FUCK IS MAKING FUCKING BACON AND EGGS AT FUCKING SIX IN THE MORNING?" Tony screamed as he stomped in on Liv staring at him over a skillet on the stove. "GOD DAMN- Rookie, what the hell do you think you're doing in my kitchen?" Tony sat down on a bar stool, and poured a glass of scotch for himself.

"Forging the Declaration of Independance. What the hell does it look like? I'm making breakfast" Liv sassed, making a face at her host. Tony glared at the smart-aleck before draining the glass in front of him. She pulled on a red hoodie she had brought down with her and zipped the white zipper up. An iPod found its way into her holster and Liv turned back to the food.

"Yeah, well," Tony grumbled. "Just make sure you make some for me, Rookie."

"Whatever you say, Tony. By they way, you shouldn't drink scotch this early. Maybe a small glass of calm the hell down and stop drinking before noon," Liv called from the doorway after tossing some food on a plate for Tony.

"How about you take the stick out of your ass and mind your own damn business?" Tony called after her, downing his scotch then at his plate of bacon and eggs and shrugged. “At least she made food.”

* * *

When Liv returned from her two-hour long run, she found a very nervous looking Steve Rogers on the couch of the common floor. "Mornin', Cap." Liv saluted him quickly, before yanking up the socks she had 'borrowed' from Tasha's room when she couldn't find any of her own. They came up to the middle of her calves, and while comfortable, they were just a tad too big.

"Good morning, Agent Atkinson. I see you've returned from... Running?" Rogers asked timidly, watching as Liv paused her loud music and wound up some white things that he had learned were called 'ear buds' and that what Liv was using was an 'eye-pod'. "What's that you're listening to, Agent?"

"How's that?" Liv asked from the kitchen, heating up her breakfast in the microwave while turning to face her Captain. "What am I listening to? Like, the song or the genre?"

Steve just nodded. "Yes."

Liv rolled her eyes. "Real helpful, Cap. Well, this wasn't far from your time. It's 80's hard rock. A guy called Bon Jovi. His song 'Wanted Dead or Alive'. 'S good. Here, listen." she tossed her iPod to the confused Captain, and she helped him turn the music on. She pulled the ear buds out and rolled them up and put them in her pocket.

_It's all the same... only the names will change. Every day, it seems we're wastin' away. Another place where the faces are so cold. I drive all niiiight just to get baack home. I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I'd ride. I'm wanted... Dead or alive... Wanted... Dead or aliiiive... Sometimes I sleep, sometimes it's not for days. The people I meet always go their separate ways. Sometimes you tell the daaaay by the bottle that you drink. Sometimes when you're alone... Aall you do is think._

"It's very different. I don't really know if I like it... But this person sounds like Tony with his drinking." Cap nodded, and smiled sheepishly up at Liv. "I'm not very good with all of this new music and technology." Liv patted him on the shoulder and yawned.

"Don't worry, Cap. You'll get it eventually. I'm sure Tony'll help you." Liv walked over to the counter and grabbed a fork from the drawer. She ate her breakfast and sat with Steve in companionable silence. "Welp, I better go get ready. Later, Cappy." Liv stretched and hopped into the elevator, yawning once again.

"Bye..." Steve whispered to his lap, all alone once again.

* * *

"Steve? What are you doing down here? How long have you been here?" Bruce had wandered into the living room, hoping to watch an episode of Mythbusters.

"Huh?" Steve started awake, sitting up slowly while he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I don't know. Agent Atkinson had come down earlier, maybe around eight or so, and she had her breakfast and let me listen to some music and then she left. I think I fell asleep after that."

Bruce blushed a little at the mention of Liv, remembering the night before. "I see. Do you know where she went? I need to, um, talk to her. Also, why hasn't Tony been down to bring you to your room?"

Steve paled, and looked nervously up at the ceiling. "There was a voice, and it talked to me. I couldn't see it, and it knew my name. It said, 'Mister Rogers, would you like for me to alert Mister Stark to your arrival?' and I kinda yelled at it for a little and it told me what it's name is and that-"

"Jarvis is Tony's AI, artificial intelligence, and he controls everything in the tower with it. It's a huge culture shock to be in Stark Tower after being frozen for seventy years, huh? It was pretty bad for me when I got back from India. I can only imagine what it's like for you and Thor."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, nodding slowly. "Um, Bruce, do you think you could bring me to my room? I mean, if it's not too much trouble."

"Yeah, no problem, Steve. Where's your stuff?"

"Over here, by the door. Let me just get it and I'll be right there." Steve grabbed his bags and headed over to the elevators.

"Jarvis, send us up to Steve's floor then bring me to Agent Atkinson's floor. Please tell Mister Rogers how everything works in the simplest terms possible."

"Of course, sir." Jarvis answered, before announcing that they were on Steve's floor. The two men waved their goodbyes and Bruce could feel the nervousness in his stomach as he neared Liv's floor.

He stepped out of the elevator, nerves jangled from being in such a small space and from talking to Liv about what transpired the night before, real or not. He glance around, ducking his head into the living room of her floor. "Um, hello? Liv? It's me, Bruce. I wanted to talk to you?" Bruce called out, then listened for a little. He heard the faint sound of someone singing. He followed the sound until he paused outside of a door that he recognized as the bedroom.

".. _.Feels like I am just too close to love you! There's nothing I can really saaaaayyy. I can't lie no more, I can't hide no more. Got to be true to myself! And it feels like I am just too close to looove-_ " The door opened suddenly, making Bruce jump back in fear and Liv shriek. She flushed bright red, and Bruce did the same. "You.” Liv finished her song, and began again. “Bruce! What are you doing here," Liv didn't really ask, just stated it.

"I... Um, I... Nevermind!" Bruce stammered, noticing Liv wasn't wearing a shirt. "I'll just come back some other time!" He turned and fled for the stairs, the elevator would take too long. He struggled with the door for a minute until Liv called, "It's push, not pull." He turned and shot her a look, but faced the door again quickly at the expression on Liv's face. She had her eyes narrowed, her arms crossed, and an angry frown turned her mouth down. _'The mouth that kissed you last night'_ a little voice in Bruce's head reminded him. ' _Gah! Shut up, brain! Please, just stop it!'_

Liv shook her head at the closing door, and the retreating shadow of Bruce Banner. "I will never understand Midgardian men." Liv grabbed her shirt off the back of a chair, and pulled it on quickly. She flicked her wrist at the stairwell door and the elevator, casting a spell that ensured no one would interrupt her. She stalked back to her room, growing taller and her legs getting longer once more. She sat cross-legged on her bed and conjured up a circle of magic. "I call upon Thialfi, the messenger of the gods, to deliver my message to Loki Laufeyson, the trickster god and Jötun. The slayer of Balder and rightful ruler of the nine realms." Asfrid tossed a single scroll into the center of the circle, shattering the magic as the scroll fell through. She smirked as she watched it disappear into thin air, knowing that in a few moments Loki would get it.

* * *

"...And so then I said, 'But Nat, how can you stab the guy if you left your knife at my place last night?' and then she slapped me... But it was still funny. And that's the story of Budapest," Clint laughed mostly to himself as he was hunched over a drink while Thor stared on in childish wonder.

"But, my friend, how did the leather-clad maiden leave her weapon at your... Place if she was never there?" Thor's brow furrowed and his shoulders dropped. Clint rolled his eyes at the blond god next to him.

"It was a joke, big guy. I was teasing Nat. It was supposed to be funny."

"I see no humor in humiliating our teammate. Perhaps she was truly upset?"

Clint rolled his eyes at the Asgardian. "Listen, Thor, buddy. Here on Earth, we tease the people we care about. I care about Nat, so I tease her." Thor nodded slowly, then rose and started walking towards the door. "Where are ya' goin' Thor?" Clint called.

"To go and check on my brother," Thor answered. He lumbered through the corridors and smiled at the agents he passed. The broad-shouldered man had to squeeze behind a group of new recruits who were getting a tour of the aircraft. "Pardon me," Thor rumbled. The young men and women jumped and shuffled forward. Finally, he reached Loki's cell, stepping as softly as he could.

Loki stiffened, and shoved the scroll he had gotten into a magic hidden pocket in his armor. He kept his back to the intruder, and turned his head slightly. "What do you want, Thor?" The dark haired man walked over to his bench and bed and sat, arms crossed, and eyes smoldering. "Do I appear to be in a gaming mood?"

"When do you ever, brother?" Thor joked, but Loki was in no mood for his antics. Thor's grin fell off his face and he coughed awkwardly. "I am sorry. The marksman told me that is what you do when you care about someone. You, oh, what was the word... Tease! You tease them."

Loki scoffed and turned his head away. "The marksman would be wrong. When you care about someone, you let them be. And if you truly cared about me, _Odinson_ , you would do the same. I wish to be alone," Loki snarled. "So, be gone." Thor stepped forward and stretched a hand out apologetically, but when his hand collided with the glass of his brother's prison, he was reminded of the situation.

Thor lowered his hand and whispered gruffly, "We're taking you home soon, brother. You'll get to see Mother again. And Father too. Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, and all of our subjects. Won't that be nice, my brother?" Loki stiffened again, and his head turned towards Thor sharply.

"I am not your brother. I never was, nor will I ever be, Thor. Why won't that get through your thick skull?" Loki teared up, eyes shining in the harsh light.

Thor worried his lip with his teeth, and then sighed heavily. "Because we were raised together, we played together, learned together, fought together, we did everything together." Loki looked up at Thor with watery eyes.

"Thor, please. Leave me be. I wish to be alone for now before I face the cruel punishment the Allfather no doubt has for me." Thor nodded slowly, sadly, and turned away. Loki quickly swiped at the crocodile tears and mumbled a spell before flicking his wrist at the retreating figure of the strong blond.

* * *

Several hours later the two gods and Clint were speeding through the skies in a S.H.E.I.L.D. plane towards Tony Stark's tower where the rest of the team was waiting. Clint could practically taste the tension between his divine traveling companions.

"Hey, Thor, buddy. You okay, big guy?" Clint rested a hand on Thor's shoulder, the larger man starting and raising his head quickly.

"I am fine, friend. My brother, however, I cannot say the same for." Thor sighed sadly, and put a large hand to his cheek and rested his head upon it.

Clint made a noise of agreement and said, "I know how you feel. I've got five brothers and three sisters. My Ma couldn't take care of us all after Dad died, so I had to be the man of the family. Then when she got sick, everything just fell apart. We lost the house, my baby brothers and sisters were taken away from me and put in homes all over the country. 'Too troublesome,' they said. 'Nobody's gonna adopt any of the Barton children.' they said. I would've adopted them all when I turned eighteen, but no. Turns out Dad was a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent and he had arranged for all of us to become agents when we were old enough. I went around looking for my family, to maybe say goodbye one more time, but no." Agent Barton sighed and patted Thor on the back before turning to leave. "They were all gone."

Thor looked up at his usually stone-cold teammate, and stood up. He lumbered over, and pulled Hawkeye into a bear hug. "I am so sorry for you, my friend." Clint smiled a rare smile, and hugged Thor back. He whispered his thanks and went back to piloting the aircraft.

Loki scoffed at his brother's softness, the sound muffled through a muzzle they had placed on him. He shook his bound hands, trying to cast even a simple spell, but found that Stark's technology had him beaten. He breathed a curse and held stock still as Thor came back to his chair.

"Loki, please. If you co-operate with me, with us, I promise that I will find a way to spare you from the horrors of Asgardian prison," Thor begged his brother, large hands grasping each other. "I swear it upon my only weapon, my treasured hammer. I swear it, dear brother." Loki could only roll his eyes and make another disgusted noise at Thor's weakness. "I know what you are thinking, Loki. I am not weak, I am being what a real warrior worthy of entering Valhalla is. _Compassionate_."

Loki rolled his eyes once more, even more exaggerated than the time before. He smirked to himself as he decided that it was time to activate the connection he had made with Thor earlier. All of a sudden, it was as if the thoughts racing through Loki's mind had flown through the air and smashed into Thor's considerably sized forehead. Thor's dull thoughts drifted through to Loki, and he shuddered at the most... Intimate ones.

_"Now, brother, I can talk to you and you have no escape from my words."_ Loki whispered to Thor telepathically, his voice even silkier than it was when spoken aloud. _"I am more compassionate than a vile brute like you could ever be. I have held a woman in my arms late at night when she was scared senseless by your abrasive behavior."_

Thor gasped and clutched his head, trying to get Loki's voice out of it. Loki just sat still, head held high, a smirk playing around his muzzled mouth. He looked down at Thor while Thor looked up, eyes tearing up from the pain. _"Wasn't expecting it to hurt, were you, brother?"_ Loki raised an eyebrow while he thought this, and Thor winced again.

"Brother, please. Stop this madness, I beg you!"

_"No."_ Loki replied simply. He remembered a terrible sound he had heard earlier, a sound emitted by a microphone (was that the word?) that had been too close to another one. Thor gasped in pain, his entire body visibly shaking while Loki just looked on, completely unaffected by his reaction. In fact, he laughed to himself, a merry chuckle that hadn't been heard in years. If only it wasn't such a grating sound in his head, Thor would have smiled at his younger brother.

Thor choked out a sob, the noise getting strangled in his throat by the lump the tears had made. "Loki... Brother... Help me..." He cried out once more, Loki's eyes narrowing.

_"Pity. I thought you would have lasted longer without breaking. Ah, well,' the bigger they are, the harder they fall,' I believe is the phrase. And you cannot tell anyone about this, Thor, otherwise there will be dire consequences for that Midgardian girl you fancy."_ Loki's thoughts sent a dark chuckle into Thor's mind, the latter wincing again. Thor nodded, gritting his teeth, to show he understood and Loki smiled.

There was a lurch in the craft as it landed on top of Stark Tower, and as Loki prepared himself to be taken out, he sat up primly and smirked beneath the muzzle.


	6. The Arrival of Everyone's Favorite Villian

Liv was nearly bouncing in excitement as she watched the aircraft land on the helipad on top of Stark Tower. Natasha glanced at the girl next to her out of the corner of her eye and misinterpreted her emotion. She whispered, "He's nothing without his magic. I know he's your first villain, but seriously kid. Calm down." Liv stopped rocking back and forth on her heels long enough to make Nat happy, and had to start biting the inside of her cheek to keep from grinning.

Bruce glanced down the line at Liv, but when she turned her head to face Nat, he pulled his back so that he was hiding behind Steve and Tony's taller, broader frames as well as Nat's... curvy frame. He turned to face the opening hatch of the craft, and jumped a little when Clint hopped out first, bow and arrow at the ready. It took all Nat had to not run over and give that big doofus an even bigger hug. Loki was out next, his handcuffs held by one of Thor's massive hands.

 _"How lovely, our own little greeting party. Isn't this what you love,_ Brother _, to be the center of attention?"_ Loki hissed to Thor's mind. Thor bit his tongue to keep from making noises of discomfort and only wrapped his hand around the cuffs tighter.

"I would not test my already thin patience, Loki, if I were you," Thor whispered gruffly in Loki's ear. "You know how I lose control suddenly when I become pained greatly."

_"Is that a threat, Odinson?"_

"Only if you think it to be one, Broth- Laufeyson," Thor struggled to say the one word he vowed to never call Loki. Loki, on the other hand, was considerably shocked.

 _"Oh, look who's graduated to the big boy pants now,"_ Loki snipped at Thor's thoughts. _"It seems that you_ are _capable of being rude to me! How lovely!"_ Thor's expression dropped from brave and blank to a saddened one. Loki could feel it in his mind, Thor's resolution falling. In the small part of his mind that was still private to himself only, Loki thought, _"Only a little while longer before my apprentice will be able to break me out of this wretched world and then_ I _will be king."_

After hurried greetings and iron wills being put the the extreme test, Loki was again shoved into a cell. His thoughts flashed back to when he was captured at the beginning of this little... adventure. He winced, green eyes closing as the door closed loudly. Loki waited a few minutes to ensure that all of the Avengers had gone. He waved his hand and cast a simple cloaking spell over himself so that to his wardens he would seem to be asleep. The mischief maker pulled the scroll out of his armor, then decided to take his it off. It melted away and condensed into the form of an onyx ring with a thin gold band that he slid onto a slender finger. He unrolled the scroll and read it again.

_My king,_

_I have received word that you will be moved from that damned metal prison and placed in another one. I have assembled all needed items to restore you to your full power. My sources tell me that Stark's invention will dampen your powers, but seeing as I have managed to slip you an antidote that was taken on the way to point B, you will be able to perform magic within fifteen minutes of consumption. I will be in to check on you after ten minutes of waiting. I'll be hiding, so I challenge you to find me. If you do, there will be a pleasant reward for you._

_Forever your faithful apprentice,_

_Asfrid_

Loki smiled at his student's letter, eyes sad and wishing for her to be with him. He had shut off the mental connection with Thor, only slightly monitoring the thunderer's thought to ensure that his secret wasn't let out. He laid a finger on the paper to trace each letter of her name. He had gotten to "I" when he felt as though someone were watching him. He froze, shoved the scroll into the pocket of his tunic, and stood slowly. He heard the faint rustle of clothes, and his head whipped in the direction it came from. He saw nothing, and turned back around. As he did, he nearly collided with none other than Asfrid, her curly brown hair forming something resembling a mane. She had her trademark smirk plastered on her face, her violet eyes taking in every inch of Loki's face, his expression, his eyes, and what seemed like his thoughts.

Loki smiled back, and reached for her hand. She complied and their fingers intertwined. Loki gave her a small kiss on the top of her head, and smiled as she reached up to kiss him. "You're late, dear girl," Loki whispered as he felt her wrap her arms around his middle.

"And you're imprisoned," Asfrid shot back, grinning stupidly at her teacher. "But I'm here to fix that. Stark's got his faux palace on lock down until he finds a... bio-weapon he made for S.H.E.I.L.D."

"Oh? And it wouldn't happen to be in the shape of a hair pin, now would it?" Loki asked teasingly, pulling a bright yellow pin with black radiation warnings on it out of Asfrid's hair gently.

She grabbed at it, smiling at his messing around. "Return it to me, Loki, or you'll never get that _reward_ I promised you."

Loki pouted and stuck it back where he had found it carefully. "You never allow me any fun, darling." Asfrid stuck her tongue out at him and, with a wave of her hand, made her hair sleek and in a messy bun. They walked over to the bench hand in hand and sat down together. Loki smiled down at his feet, and realized just how much he'd missed her while he'd been gone. He missed seeing her wear those Midgardian shoes she called "Converse" and then wear casual Asgardian dress. It seemed wrong somehow, a tunic and hunting pants made in Asgard, and Converse made in another world, but for her it worked. He never could figure out how she got them, or heard of them for that mater, as she never even left Asgard.

When he looked back up at her, he found the petite agent from earlier sitting beside him, his arm around her shoulders, and Asfrid lying on the floor with blood leaking from the corner of her mouth and from her temple, her mane making a halo around her head on the cold metal floor. Loki jumped up and turned to snarl at Liv, who had seemingly come from nowhere and managed to defeat  _his_  apprentice in silence. Agent Atkinson giggled at Loki, and grabbed his hand. Loki snatched his arm back, and rushed over to check on Asfrid. As he lay a hand on her forehead, she flickered and disappeared in front of his eyes.

Liv smiled down at him, knelt next to Loki, and lifted his chin up to make him look at her. Her small, rounded, smiling face transformed into a slightly thinner, more angular one, still with the same warm smile. Loki stiffened, and backed away from the sorceress, anger burned into his eyes. "You...I..Traitor!" Loki choked out, fingers grappling at the glass.

Asfrid rolled her eyes at Loki, and said simply, "Well, how else was I supposed to get close enough to free you, my king?" Loki had nothing to say to her. "Perhaps you thought that I would simply barge in here, with no previous information, and that maybe the Avengers would do nothing?"

Loki sat down suddenly, his legs giving out beneath him. He hadn't thought of that, actually. He wasn't going to let her know that, though. "No. I had assumed that maybe your years as an apprentice had taught you to warn your teacher before doing something drastic."

Asfrid shook her head in frustration, and only sat down again. "I was under the impression that you could tell. I could see it in your eyes, the first day Liv met you. You knew who we were, but perhaps the connection had not been made." Loki, again, was stony silent. Asfrid felt bad, but she was determined to win this battle.

"I missed you," Loki whispered. "I missed your antics, your smile, your laugh, everything about you I missed." Asfrid's eyes widened in surprise. He never admitted to having actual deep, real, _romantic_  emotions, and never longing.

"I... I missed you too, my lord." She inhaled sharply as Loki wrapped his long arms around her small shoulders. Loki inhaled too, a long breath in which he caught the smell of her. It smelled like flowers, spices, and leather. It was a scent that was completely unique to Asfrid, and not even when she was Liv did she smell like that.

Asfrid nuzzled his neck, kissing it lightly. She whispered quietly, "I love you." Loki's eyes snapped open, and his heart raced. He had been waiting to hear those words for nearly 2,000 years. Ever since he had seen her snarling at Thor because of some petty, childish wrongdoing, he knew that she was full of potential. Even though he was only a few hundred years old, he could tell that the illegitimate daughter of the village blacksmith was meant to be with him.

"And I love you, my dearest. When I am king, we will be wed in glorious fashion, and you will be my queen. We will have three children, a son and two daughters. The girls will look exactly like their beautiful mother, and the boy will have her sense of adventure, but with his father's cunning," Loki stated matter-of-factly. "The boy will, of course, be learned in the art of magic, and the girls as well. We will have our three beautiful children, nine realms to rule, and no one to challenge us."

Asfrid smiled at this, and then her expression changed. She was concentrating as hard as she could. Suddenly, a pale, thin, tall boy stepped out from behind her. His hair was dark and unruly, his eyes a glimmering green. A smaller girl emerged, too, holding his hand. Her hair was brown, and straight, with eyes of a deep purple. Another girl toddled out from behind the two of them, her round, rosy face smiling. She wobbled over to Loki, and reached up for him. Loki bent down to her and she touched his cheek with a pudgy hand. "Love Da," she said. Loki teared up at the sight of future children, he had never thought that he would wed or have any children before Asfrid.

"What do you think, my love? Are you ready to get out of here to speed up their arrival?" Asfrid asked, motioning at the conjured children. Loki nodded happily, holding his baby girl on his hip, smiling and letting her grasp two of his fingers in her tiny hand.

"I would love nothing more than to have a life and a family with you." The children waved a farewell, and dissolved into thin air.

"Shall we, then?"

"Of course."


	7. ~Conflict!~

The Avengers were lounging in the common room, completely unaware of the meeting taking place several floors below them. Bruce and Tony had struck up a game of Monopoly and Steve was staring intently at the board, eyes following each square that the pieces moved. Thor and Clint were having an arm wrestling contest at which Clint was losing horribly. Natasha sat on the counter, sipping an apple juice and watching the boys mess around. Liv was allegedly napping in her room, but suddenly Natasha got a weird feeling in her gut. She started walking towards the elevator, but Clint spotted her and called,"Hey, Nat! Where ya' goin'?"

Natasha turned around, her face showing worry for a split second. "Guys, I've got a bad feeling. I think you should all have your weapons or whatever just in case." She chewed her lip for a moment before getting small nods from the boys. Nat smiled gratefully at them before Tony made some smart-ass remark that she didn't care about. She spent the thirty second ride up tapping her foot impatiently with arms crossed, looking at the ceiling. When the elevator finally stopped, she nearly jumped out of the slowly opening doors.

"God, I hate closed spaces. Hey, Liv? You okay, Rookie?" Nat called out into the empty suite. She wandered through the living room to the bedroom, its door ajar. Natasha pushed it open gently, poked her head in, and noticed what looked like glass shards on the floor, the messy bed, and the clothes strewn about the room. "Liv? Liv, are you here? Olivia?"

* * *

Meanwhile, Asfrid and Loki had cast their spell, and Loki's decoy was wandering his cell. The two were walking off holding hands, and smiled at each other as they prepared to teleport into the middle of the Avengers' relaxation. Asfrid took a last look at Loki before she closed her eyes. She felt him press a kiss on her forehead, and she smiled lightly as the tingling sensation of teleportation took over her body. Once the feeling faded, Asfrid opened her eyes and smiled maliciously. Her eyes scanned the room, making eye contact with Tony, who was discreetly motioning for Jarvis to bring his suit, Steve who was crouched in a defensive position with his shield held tightly, Thor reaching for Mjölnir, and Clint for his bow and quiver.

"Hello, Bruce," she said sweetly, looking the startled doctor in the eye last of all. His face went from startled to confused and Asfrid could see him mouth, " _Who are you..._ " slowly. She grinned and changed into Liv, and Bruce let out a strangled cry of recognition.

"But... Liv... I... We..." Bruce stammered, and suddenly Tony was in front of him, in his suit, protecting his friend. Natasha chose at that moment to come running from upstairs and then stopped the instant she saw Liv with Loki's arm around her. Since she was looking from the back, she didn't know if he had a knife to her throat or what, but from the look on her teammates' faces told her that there was going to be a fight.

"Loki! Let go of Liv this instant!" Natasha shrieked, her shoes making clacking sounds against Tony's floor. Loki and Liv turned around, both smiling with mischief shining in their eyes. Nat saw that Liv was snuggling up to Loki, and the hand around Liv didn't hold anything but her hand. Confusion flashed across her face, only to be quickly replaced by anger. "You took over her mind, you _bastard_!" Natasha stormed over to where her team was on the other side of Liv and Loki. Loki laughed at her as she circled them with a gun pulled and loaded in front of her.

"Oh, no, not at all my dear. Liv here is, in reality, my apprentice. She merely took on the guise of a S.H.E.I.L.D. agent to be able to get close enough to free me." Here Liv mock curtsied, grinning evilly up at Bruce as she did so. "Her name is not, I'm afraid Agent Olivia Atkinson, but will soon be Asfrid Laufeyson. Isn't that right, my pet?"

Liv laughed lightly, "Only too right, my dearest." She shot a wicked grin at Thor as she returned to her true form. "Remember me, O Thunderer?" Thor winced and nearly dropped Mjölnir when Loki's voice snaked its way into his mind.

 _"Come now, Brother. Don't be so rude to your future sister-in-law._ _She's been nothing but cordial this whole visit. I truly hope you won't behave like this at the wedding. That is, of course, if I let you live long enough to see it."_ Loki smirked as Thor teared up and bit the inside of his cheek. _"That little Midgardian girl, Jane is it? Do you think she'd like to join us, Thor? For the feast and the traditional hunt for an off-world beast? Oh, yes, I do think that is a wonderful idea._ She _could be our beast."_

"NO!" Thor roared as he charged at Loki, Mjölnir raised in one hand, electricity crackling in the air. Loki rolled his eyes and easily sidestepped Thor, and with a wave of his hand caused him to fly into the bar Tony had set up along one wall.

"Next weakling please step forward to face the mighty Loki," the trickster said, voice dripping with sarcasm and eyes bright as he noticed Asfrid had slipped away and held Bruce suspended in mid-air, cooing to him little taunts and threats.

"'Oh, Bruce Banner, it sounds like a poem,'" Asfrid trilled in a mocking voice. She lowered her voice an octave or two and said, "'Oh, Livvy, because you kissed me once on a mission I love you forever and ever!'" Bruce turned his head away from her, trying to hide the tears. "'Oh, Bruce! You never even noticed that I was really evil and just wanted to free the only man I've ever loved!'" she mocked again. Her voice returned to normal and she placed a hand on Bruce's cheek. "Poor Doctor Banner. Alone in the world, afraid that because he's such a monster that no woman would ever love him. Oh, but then a beautiful girl emerges from the woodwork and kisses him in a bar, holds his hand, lets him put his arm around her, takes him to Stark Tower with her, and abandons him there with nothing but the memory of the feel of her lips against his. Tragic, really."

The caress of her hand was gone and replaced with a harsh slap across the gentle doctor's face. " _That_ was for thinking that a monster like you could ever be loved." She pulled out a knife and caught a few of Bruce's tears on it. She smiled, looking like a vengeful angel, and dragged the tip of the blade down his face before pressing hard enough to break skin and drew a sad face on his cheek. Bruce roared in pain, but the stretching of his skin only made it hurt worse. He shut his mouth and whimpered for her to stop, but she only smiled. " _That_ was for crying and whimpering. 'Oh, no, Livvy, don't hurt me! Remember what we did once, how much fun we had back on the ship! I love you, Livvy, please don't hurt me anymore!' Pathetic." Asfrid scoffed and used the bloody knife to slice open Bruce's button-down, and wrote her name in beautiful cursive on his chest and stomach with it.

All the while, Loki had been having fun of his own. He had incapacitated the Black Widow, Hulk was being taken care of, his idiot brother was limping towards him with two broken arms and yet was still able to hold the damned hammer. Hawkeye was out of arrows, but only because Loki had thrown his quiver over the side of the tower and used his magic to make it explode somewhere over the traffic and was currently trying to get Natasha to safety. The Captain, though, that was another story. The stupid human thought that maybe if he could put aside his differences with Stark to work together and sneak up on Loki while he was distracted they could overpower him. _Foolish mortals_. Loki spun around, two shots of blue light hitting them both square in the chest. They flew backward, and Steve's shield was wrenched from his arm as he slammed into the far wall. Tony in his Iron Man suit crashed through the wall and into the fountain he had set up in the next room.

"Alright, Rock of Ages, if that's the way you wanna play, then so be it," Tony muttered, eyes scanning the holograms floating in front of his face. He noticed that Liv- Loki's apprentice whatever the fuck her name is was unprotected and had her back turned from the chaos. She had Bruce and that's what Tony was gonna go after. "Well, Cupcake, it seems you're my next target."

Loki and Thor were facing off, circling each other, eyes fixed on one another as though they were the only two in the room. As if Bruce Banner wasn't bleeding from a face on his cheek, a name written in blood on his chest, sobbing on the floor. As if Natasha Romanov wasn't unconscious and her partner Clint Barton wasn't on his knees with her head in his lap, trying not to cry when she was unresponsive and bleeding from the head. As if Steve Rogers wasn't clutching his shoulder, looking for his shield in the rubble from where Tony Stark, currently fighting Asfrid and losing, had smashed through the wall. As if they had all disappeared.

 _"Thor, is it really worth it? You're going to lose, and you know it,"_ Loki projected while smirking. Thor made a rumbling sound in his throat and stumbled closer, but Loki only copied and made their circle smaller.

 _"That is what you think, Brother. I know my teammates, and though they may be broken, they have not been beaten yet."_ Thor narrowed his stunning blue eyes, and a dark eyebrow over his brother's sparkling emeralds quirked up in mock surprise.

 _"Oh, really? With one on the precipice of death, another being slowly tortured, you with broken arms, your marksman crying, a man in a flimsy suit, and a mortal with a trash can lid and a dislocated shoulder? You_ really _think you could beat us? Not a chance."_

Thor grimaced as a twinge of pain shot up from his left forearm, but he shook it out and glared at his brother. _"I do not think, Brother. I know. We will beat you, and you will fall. You will be returned to Asgard and placed in prison. Father will have no mercy."_

Loki became quickly enraged. "HE'S NOT _MY_ FATHER!" Loki screamed at Thor, who was slightly taken aback at the sudden outburst. "He was never my father. Thor, do you know what he did to me? He told me that the Jötun are evil, are scum, are the very rubbish of the Nine realms! He _brainwashed_ me, Thor, against my own kind! He was using me, he was setting me up. He never wanted me to be king of Asgard, he wanted me to be king of Jötunheim. He wanted me to stroll in, take over the throne, and rule with an Asgardian mindset towards the Jötun! He wanted me to rule as if my people, my kin, were trash! He's never had mercy on me, Thor! He  _knew_  that there was no way I'd be able to rule without finding out my true parentage. _He_ is the monster, Thor, not the Jötun."

Thor was too startled to speak. He opened his mouth only to close it again. The Thunderer could see the tears in his baby brother's eyes, could feel his pain through their mental connection. "I'm so sorry, Loki. I had no idea..." Thor trailed off, and Loki sniffed once before turning his gaze away from Thor. They had stopped circling long ago, and Loki said only one thing, his eyes becoming hard as stone.

"Fight me."


	8. B-B-B-B-BATTLE SCENE

Asfrid slid backward on the floor slick with Bruce's blood after one of Tony's repulsor blasts had hit her. Her head quickly shot up, eyes darting around the room, and she reached for her belt. A knife found its way into her hand and she launched it at Thor across the room, whose arms had apparently healed enough to really wield his hammer. The knife stuck in his bicep with a small satisfying sound and then Asfrid realized how she could get Tony to leave her alone.

"Anthony! You really wouldn't try to kill a woman who is," she paused for dramatic effect. "With child, would you?" Asfrid noticed how Tony quickly landed with a loud _thump_ and his faceplate shot up to show wide brown eyes. "That's right, Man of Iron. I am carrying the child of your worst enemy."

Tony's eyes shot over to Loki, who had just used his scepter to hit Thor and leave a gash on his face while the Thunderer was busy pulling the knife out of his arm. Loki looked over his shoulder at Asfrid, and he had a maniac smile on, one that spoke of bloodlust and was fueled by adrenaline. She returned a loving smile, and turned to face Tony, who was staring at her stomach, arms slack by his sides.

"You can't be. It's impossible. We were monitoring the footage of the cell. You weren't even down there. It's-" Tony stammered, his brow furrowing as he tried to figure out how they could have made a baby without them, or even Jarvis, noticing.

"Hush, Stark. I have only one word to say to you: _Magic._ " Asfrid smiled and placed a bloody hand on her abdomen. "Right now, the child of my king and I is growing into a lovely little copy of his father. With magic and his brilliant green eyes."

"How do you know it's a boy if it was only conceived today?" Tony studied Asfrid's face amid the chaos of the brothers fighting, Steve trying to get in, but an invisible force field keeping him from helping Thor.

"Because, Mister Stark, we made it so. There is a spell that my love has learned in his many years of studying the art of magic. It's very complicated and only really works if both parties are magical. To cut to the chase, as it were, we performed the spell after I liberated him from your pitiful prison in the highly unlikely case that he would perish in the battle we are in now." Asfrid explained all of this, circling slowly around Tony, who also turned in a slow circle to always have his eyes on her. Tony had a fleeting thought that she reminded him of a cat, but then focused again on what she had just said.

"Well, darling, I hate to disappoint you, but I'm afraid your child will have to grow up never knowing his father. Because you will lose." Tony's eyes narrowed as Asfrid laughed lightly. She stopped circling suddenly, and then a yellow bolt of magic was shot at Tony from her hand. Tony stumbled back a few steps, his suit glowing red hot on the arm where he was hit. His faceplate covered him again, and the fight was back on. Pregnant or not, Asfrid was going down.

Asfrid bolted for the glass windows leading to the balcony, and shot it out with another flash of magic, jumped onto the rail and grinned at Tony before flipping off and into the empty air below. She managed to turn her body as she was falling so that her stomach was facing the building and conjured up a a flying chariot, much like the Chitauri had. She landed gracefully on it, clinging to the bars with her hair whipping around her face.

Tony took a running start and jumped after her, his suit aiding him in the chase. He saw her take a quick right around the street, and he banked so that he didn't mess up his tower (again) and added a little more thrust to his thrusters. Asfrid looked behind her, saw Tony flying overhead, and engaged the cloaking device on her vehicle.

"Sir, we seem to have lost visual. Would you like me to engage thermal view?" Jarvis asked, his mechanical voice echoing in Tony's ears.

"Yes, do it now. We're going to lose her!" Tony's frantic voice registered to the AI and with the thermal engaged, the immense heat coming from Asfrid's engines was highly visible to Tony.

* * *

Meanwhile, Thor and Loki were still engaged in their heated battle. Steve had tried and failed to assist Thor and had run over to Bruce's body lying on the floor, surrounded by his blood. He had taken Bruce's pulse and then searched frantically for a medical kit, and remembered that Jarvis would work, even if Tony jumped out of a broken window over midday traffic, which he had.

"Jarvis!" Steve yelled, turning frantically, noting that Bruce was looking very ashen and his breathing had slowed. "I need a medical kit _right now!_ " The captain dropped to his knees and almost cried with relief when, after a minute of nothing but the sounds of traffic and metal against metal from Thor and Loki, the AI's voice hit his ears.

"Yes, sir. Here you are, Mister Rogers." Jarvis had DUM-E roll out with a white box with blocky red letters that Steve fumbled with in his anxiousness to help Bruce. Bruce could hear very little, his ears felt like they were stuffed with cotton. His mouth was dry and his eyesight was blurry. He knew that he had been badly hurt, and that his exposure to the radiation and his resulting mutation could save him from so much, and he fleetingly wondered if the other guy couldn't save him this time. He could barely hear somebody that sounded like Steve muttering at him, _"Hold on, Bruce, just hold on"_ and he tried to smile to ease Steve's mental and emotional strain. The cut on his face had started clotting, and the sudden movement of the muscles and skin opened the thin layer of blood and Bruce hissed in pain before his face fell back to a painless blank expression.

"I lost too many men in the war, Bruce, I'm not losing you when I can save you with my own two hands." Steve was mostly talking to himself, Bruce had slipped back out of consciousness again, and Steve was rooting through the white box for something to soak up the blood and stop the bleeding. Steve couldn't make out where the cuts were on the doctor's chest, there was too much blood, both dried and fresh. He found some gauze and hydrogen peroxide, that's what the bottle said. He poured some of the liquid on a square of the gauze and carefully started cleaning the blood off of his teammate's chest and face. Steve had spent what felt like a lifetime cleaning Bruce, staunching the blood, cleaning what he couldn't keep in, staunching, cleaning again, and soon enough the cuts began to clot. Slowly but surely, the bleeding slowed enough for Steve to feel safe enough to turn on his knees and get the roll of bandages out of the box. He had found a box that said "surgical tape - good for keeping gauze etc. in place" and decided to use it along with the bandage. Steve turned back to Bruce to see that he was still in his torn and blood-soaked shirt and lying limply on the floor. He quickly took Bruce's pulse and smiled in relief when he felt the gentle pulsing under his fingers.

Steve's mind raced as he thought of how to go about covering the cuts on Bruce when he noticed that they almost looked like... Letters. He turned his head in an effort to read them easier than how he was facing them, "A.. Asf.. Asfrid! That's the girl who was masquerading as an agent!" Steve looked down at Bruce's unresponsive face like a father would. "I can't believe she did this to you, Bruce. She had always seem to like you back on the ship. You guys with the movies and the talking... I'm so sorry. I don't know if you can hear me, Bruce, but I'm so, so sorry." Steve sniffed, then his face assumed the leader-like expression he had in a battle. He carefully taped the gauze on Bruce's face and chest, then slowly and oh so gently lifted him up, pulled off the scraps of shirt still on him, then started winding the roll of bandages around his chest, spiraling downwards from the 'A' to the 'D' on his muscled chest, which was now rising and falling slowly, much to Steve's satisfaction.

Bruce's eyes slowly opened, the lids feeling like lead and his chest feeling tight, constricted, and like it was pulsing in agony. He could feel the gauze and the tape on his face and was grateful to his captain for patching up the monster of the team. Bruce calculated that it would take a few days for his face to heal, about a week for his chest, and never for his heart.

He had trusted her. He had talked with her, laughed with her, over-analyzed Star Wars and Star Trek with her, had given her the only thing he could, his trust, and she had betrayed him like it meant nothing. Maybe it didn't. Maybe he meant nothing to anyone. Bruce started to cry a little, his whole body shaking as he lay there with his upper body on Captain Steve Rogers' lap and his arm around his cut up middle.


	9. Captured Once More

"We're going to lose her!" Tony's eyes darted around the screens in front of him, trying to get a reading on Asfrid's whereabouts. Jarvis engaged the thermal view, and suddenly Tony knew right where she was. "Heading towards Queens, huh? Not for long." Tony's suit got a sudden burst of speed, jolting forwards in the air after Asfrid, and he tried to aim a repulsor at one of the engines. He aimed, fired it up, then shot, but it missed as she turned a corner quickly and it landed on a hot dog cart several hundred feet below. It exploded on the street, taking out the vendor, cars parked near it, several pedestrians around it, and the storefront the cart was parked by. "Damn it!" Tony swore, following the trail of heat left by Asfrid's engines.

Asfrid whipped her head around, she had heard the blast and hoped it hadn't been from the tower, and when she saw it was just something on the street, she faced the right way again. Over the roar of the wind in her ears she could hear Stark's suit flying above her. She craned her neck to the left, trying to catch a glimpse of the bright red and gold metal trap, but was blown off her transportation by an attack on her engines. The sky racer exploded high above the never-ending New York traffic, burning bits of metal flying into buildings and cars, hitting the people on the streets, even Asfrid, who was burned by a piece of red-hot shrapnel grazing her cheek. She cried out, the sound lost amid the din of car alarms going off, and her ears still ringing from the explosion.

Tony made a triumphant noise in his throat as he saw the explosion appear out of nowhere, and a female figure falling rapidly towards the cement. He swooped down to catch her, narrowly missing bits of her outer space Harley. Asfrid landed limply in Tony's arms, her body making a sickening sound as it connected with the gold-titanium alloy protecting Tony from nearly everything. He made a hissing sound as he sucked air in sharply and winced at the noise. "You better not be broken," Tony mumbled to the unconscious woman before blasting up into the air, back to Stark Tower.

* * *

Thor threw Mjölnir at Loki, who swiped his staff through the air, the resulting wall of transparent blue light blocking the hammer and letting it bounce off harmlessly and fly back into Thor's hand. Loki narrowed his eyes at his brother, the tension in the air palpable. Green eyes met blue, both steely and full of anger. Loki was angry at Thor trying to fix him, make him all better to present to Mummy dear and Father. Thor was angry at Loki for not seeing past what Odin had said in the past, to see that he was missed, mourned, and loved by the royal family of Asgard. The brothers kept their gazes locked, neither one making a move, just staring into the other's eyes almost unblinking. They never even heard the dull _clunk_ of Tony's boots hitting the marble, and only looked over when Steve exclaimed, "Tony!"

Tony threw Asfrid over the couch and, still in full armor, rushed to Bruce's side on the staircase he was propped up against. Steve hovered next to them, making sure they were both okay. Tony held Bruce's bare hand in his armored one, the too-hot metal startling Bruce awake, his eyes puffy and red. "Hey, there, Not-So-Jolly Green. How you holding up?" Tony asked softly, his warm brown eyes full of concern for his science bro.

"I'm hanging in there, baby," Bruce joked, his voice hoarse and weak. He tried to smile at Tony, but could only manage to pull up one side of his mouth. Tony laughed shortly, saying, "You look like death thrown in the 'wave for thirty seconds on high." They both laughed a little, and Tony pulled Bruce to his feet, tucking Bruce's right arm over his left shoulder and wrapping his left arm around the battered man's waist. Tony started helping Bruce hobble away, shooting pointed looks from Steve to the fighting gods inside their bubble. Tony whispered in Bruce's ear as he led him to the elevator, "No homo," and Bruce made short laughing sounds, unable to fully laugh because of the pain and the tightness of his bandages.

Steve had wandered over to the couch where Tony had thrown Asfrid, and quickly checked her breathing and if she had any major injuries. Her breathing was labored, but she was alive. Steve noted that her left arm was bent the wrong way, but was very slowly righting itself. He also saw that her right leg was broken, and that her cheek was bleeding and looked burned. Steve went and grabbed some gauze to patch it up with, but never let his gaze leave the fight happening in the magic bubble for more than a few seconds. The sounds of yelling and the impact of weapons on armor or flesh were muffled by the magic, but Steve still strained to hear what the gods were yelling about.

"You did this to her! She is carrying our _son_!" Loki screamed at Thor, swiping his staff angrily through the air, shots of blue light flying towards the Thunderer to accentuate his anger. "It's-" _swipe_ "all-" _swipe_ "your-" _swipe_ "fault!" _swipe, swipe, swipe_. Thor kept blocking the magic with Mjölnir, but as he blocked one, another came right after.

"Loki, brother, I had nothing to do with this! I did not tell the Man of Iron to chase after her! I did not instruct him to attack her! How was I to know that she was with child? If I had known before I would have done everything in my power to stop Stark. Brother, I swear!" Thor whirled Mjölnir around in the air, launching it at the staff in Loki's hand. The two weapons collided, a loud clanging sound echoing through the bubble of magic. Loki shut his eyes as the hammer continued past his staff into his chest, propelling him backwards, the magic bubble shattering around him. Thor charged over to Loki, who couldn't move because of the hammer on his chest. The weight was crushing his lungs, he couldn't breathe, all he could do was stare hatefully at Thor with tears in his eyes as he glanced back as far as he could in Asfrid's general direction.

"You okay?" Steve asked of Thor. Thor was breathing heavily, long hair stringy with sweat, cuts and scrapes all over his arms through the metal sleeves of his armor. There was a knife wound almost all healed up on his bicep, a gash across his face that was closing up right in front of Steve's eyes, slashes through the armor on his stomach, only faint pink lines to show where Loki had broken through the skin. Thor nodded once, then lifted Mjölnir off of Loki's chest. Loki took in a long, heaving breath, but winced at the pain in his ribs. The hammer's weight had broken a few and, as the Trickster scrambled to sit up, Thor's boot replaced the mighty hammer. Loki hissed in pain, and started gasping for air as Thor increased the pressure on his chest.

Thor leaned over to Loki's ear and whispered, "I'm so sorry, Brother." He pulled his head away, long blond hair framing his face. Loki snarled and then spat in Thor's face. Thor recoiled almost immediately, and then the blue eyes darkened. "I tried to help you, Loki. I really did." Thor's grabbed the sides of his brother's head, pulled it up quickly, and slammed it into the floor. Everything went black.

* * *

Asfrid's eyes fluttered open and her head lolled to one side. Her vision was blurry, and she could barely make out three large shapes standing in a protective group around another figure on the floor. Asfrid caught a hint of green and gold, and realized that it was Loki. She tried to stand up, but discovered that she was bound to a chair welded onto the floor. She blinked rapidly, her vision clearing and shook her head to clear it as well. She tried to pull her hands free, but the ropes around her chest were too tight. She tried to magic herself out of the bindings, but couldn't. She rolled her eyes and guessed that they had put the anti-magic cuffs on her.

"Oh, how lovely! Her Majesty is awake!" Clint crowed, pushing off from the bar he had been leaning against. Natasha shot him a look, and then turned her gaze to Asfrid. The Russian's eyes were full of anger and hatred, the pale green and brown-flecked eyes never once moving from the purple ones across the room. "We've been waiting for _hours_ for you to come to your senses. And your little boyfriend here still hasn't come out to play yet."

"That's enough," Natasha stated sharply, putting an arm in front of her partner's chest as he was trying to walk closer to Asfrid. She glowered at him, and he stepped back until he was leaning against the bar again. Asfrid took in the situation around her. Thor and Tony were still in full armor, ready to attack in case something went wrong. Bruce was nowhere to be found, Steve had his shield resting against the bar, Clint had a full quiver slung around his shoulder and his bow on top of the bar. Natasha had a gun on her hip and knife strapped to her thigh, though she had bandages around her head through which a little blood was making a crimson mark on the bright white. Loki was still unconscious on the floor, but Asfrid felt a sense of relief when she saw his chest slowly rising and falling.

"So, Avengers, now what? Will you kill us? Send us to prison? Drop us off on another helpless planet and then brush your hands because we're not your problem any more?" Asfrid asked, forgetting that her hands were bound behind her and that they couldn't see their movements. Tony let out a short, sarcastic laugh, his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "Oh, no, my dear. Not at all. Hey, Cap, could you grab another chair for Reindeer Games here?" Tony turned to Steve, metal clad arms crossed in front of the barrel-like chest plates of his suit. Steve nodded and turned to get the chair.

Thor grabbed Loki off the floor roughly and slung him over his shoulder, keeping an arm around the smaller man to ensure that he couldn't escape if he awoke. When Steve had placed the chair directly across from Asfrid's, Tony got to work welding it to the floor. Once that was done, Thor threw Loki down onto the chair, quickly catching the length of rope Clint tossed him and wrapping it around Loki and the chair. Tony then came up behind Loki, grabbing his arms and pulling them roughly behind his back so he could put the handcuffs on him. Once they were firmly around the pale wrists, Tony smirked and announced, "And now we play the waiting game."


	10. The Final Showdown

Hours passed. The sun set, the moon rose, and it was close to setting as well. Asfrid almost fell asleep over the course of the hours, the physical exhaustion of the day catching up with her. Every time her head drooped, or her eyelids were closing, one of the Avengers crouched beside her, held up an airhorn next to her head, and depressed the button for a while. Asfrid's head would shoot straight up, her eyes would snap open, and she would tear up. She always hated loud noises right in her ears. Clint snarled in her ear one time, "That was for Tasha, you bitch."

"Go ahead, and cry, Princess," Tony spat at her when it was his turn. "Bruce sure did after the hell you put him through." Steve didn't say anything after he startled her awake, just gave her a cold stare that made it's way to her heart, icy fear constricting it. Thor never once came near her, but he kept his gaze locked on her, only looking over at Loki every once in a while to see if he was awake yet. Natasha was maybe the worst. She only said three words, but they made Asfrid hang her head in shame, because she had played her part so well that she deceived a woman who lied for a living and hurt a man who had been hurt and tricked for a very long time. "He _trusted_ you," Natasha told her, Asfrid's ears still ringing from the sudden blast.

Loki's head rose slowly, the pupil of one eye dilated so much, there was only a thin ring of green around it, the other a pin point of black in a sea of green. He blinked once, twice, three times, but still stared at nothing in particular. His head wobbled a lot, concerning Asfrid that he may have a concussion or perhaps something worse. The once proud god was now looking around, a confused look plastered on his face, and a stop-and-start slurred string of "wash guin awn," "Ashfrad? For?" and other worrisome phrases leaving his mouth.

"Oh, great. Wonderful. You've given him a concussion. Way to go, Thor. Fantastic. This is just fan-freaking-tastic," Clint exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air in exasperation. Natasha put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down, but he just shrugged it off. "You got any way to fix this, Stark?"

Tony shook his head no, explaining, "He's just gotta ride it out, Legolas. Then maybe he'll stop sounding like he's had a few too many." Clint rolled his eyes, putting his hands on his hips quickly, and sighing heavily. "Great. This is great." Clint ground his teeth together, the pain only slightly distracting him from the concussed Norse god in front of him. He stormed away from the others, kicking Asfrid hard in the leg on his way by, making her cry out as her ankle snapped. "Oh, shut up, it'll heal by the time 'real power' is fully functional," he hissed at her.

* * *

The moon set, and dawn was approaching once Loki was fully awake and alert. He shook his head, the long, dark hair swaying from side to side. He looked up at Asfrid, and saw that she was tired and afraid, but he wasn't sure of what. "Well, looky here, boys! We got ourselves a live one!" Natasha exclaimed to her teammates. Tony and Clint hooted loudly, an exaggerated sound of triumph. Thor and Steve remained silent, stoic, and steely-eyed. Thor shook his head once, turning to leave the room. "I will not remain here and watch a woman who is _with child_ get tortured by insolent manchildren," Thor muttered as he stomped up the steps to his room.

"Awww, c'mon, Thor! Don't be a wet blanket!" Clint called after him. Thor ignored him, continuing up the stairs while Clint waved his hand at the burly god's retreating back and clapped once, and then rubbed his hands together. "Let's get this party started, then!" He smiled evilly, swaggering over to Asfrid's chair. He smiled down at her, bright white teeth bared between thin pink lips. She tried to shrink away from him, but he just kept smiling at her, then brought his hand across her face savagely, her head whipping the other way.

"NO!" Loki roared, straining to get free of his bindings. He shook his hands, but the cuffs weren't budging. Clint's head snapped over his shoulder. "Shut the hell up, Loki! If you don't keep quiet about this, your little son gets the chopping block too!" Loki shut his mouth, his eyes filling with tears as he saw Clint pull a knife from Asfrid' belt. "Only thing we got that'll hurt you good and proper," Clint tapped her on the nose with the hilt, then began dragging the blade over her face, trailing down to her jaw, past the column of her neck, and let it rest on her exposed collarbone. He applied more pressure, and knife cut through her skin. She hissed, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from crying out. "What's the matter? Is Her Majesty not feeling so brave and royal now? You hurting? So was Tasha, you lying whore bitch!" Clint yelled, cutting Asfrid's cheek in a swift swipe, and the girl couldn't contain her cry of pain. Loki let out a strangled sob from across the room, he ached to run to her and make the pain stop, but he couldn't do a single damn thing about it.

The mischievous god's head dropped to his chest, his lean body wracked with silent sobs of pain and despair. He, apparently, wasn't even allowed to have the small comfort of keeping his eyes shut. Steve had made his way behind the chair, and he yanked a fistful of the raven locks roughly, forcing Loki to keep his head up. The dark-haired man stared hatefully up at his blond captor, who stared down with equal hate in his eyes before roughly shoving Loki's head to face Asfrid and Clint again. Tony laughed when Clint cut off the torn right sleeve of Asfrid's armored shirt. "Don't do anything else good until I get back! I've got loads of toys to make the bitch pay for what she did," the genius called, jogging over to the stairs, Jarvis pulling his armor off of him as he made his way over. Tony stopped on a stair about halfway up, turned and smiled gleefully. "This'll be great!" Tony cackled as he bound up the remaining steps as quickly as possible. Clint contented himself to carving his name into her arms over and over again with the knife.

"Feel familiar, Princess? Bruce had it so much worse when you did it. These are designed to cut through, what? Three inches of chain mail, and leather skin? And he's just a freaking _human_ , with _human_ skin! It's a goddamn miracle you didn't kill him with this shit. Those cuts on his stomach were pretty deep," Clint dragged the knife down Asfrid's chest, down to her stomach, letting the point of the blade rest a little above her navel. "Maybe we'll give you a little tummy tuck too, Harley Quinn."

"I guess that makes Rock of Ages Joker, then, huh Legolas?" Tony called, skipping steps and peering around a large box full of things Asfrid couldn't see much of. But she could see baseball bats sticking out of the top of it, hear the noise of metal shifting against metal over and over as Tony jumped off the third step up and landed as gracefully as he could with a box full of torture instruments in his arms. Clint tucked the knife under his arm and gave Tony a round of applause. Tony set the box down and bowed dramatically.

Asfrid let out a hoarse noise, and looked around the room frantically for anyone who would give her any sympathy. Loki was bound, tears streaming down his pale face. Steve was staring right at her, blue eyes invading her soul. Thor was long gone, and Clint and Tony were rifling through the box for a new toy. Natasha was perched on the bar, legs crossed daintily, just watching Asfrid bleed. She smiled as the magic girl made a pleading face at her, and poured another glass of vodka from the bottle next to her on the bar. The redhead shook her head slightly twice, a faint smile playing around her lips. She slowly mouthed "no" at Asfrid and grinned as the girl's face crumpled as her last source of hope was crushed like an ant under a boot. Asfrid sobbed once, quickly, and looked up at Loki across from her again. He was crying harder than she was, and she managed to mouth "I love you," at him and he smiled a bittersweet smile for a split second before mouthing "I love you too," at her. Steve noticed their correspondence and pulled another handful of Loki's hair from the base of his head straight back, making him hiss in pain and let out a quick gasp.

Tony got up from his kneeling position on the floor, adjusting something on his right hand. "You ready for this, Sunshine?" Tony asked, never looking at Asfrid, just at his hand. He flexed his fingers and made his way slowly over to Asfrid's chair. He knelt in front of her, and whispered, "You're the worst kind of garbage for what you did to Bruce. And I'm going to make you pay for that. Nobody pokes and prods my rage monster but me." Tony stood up, placed his left hand on the back of the chair, and leaned on it. He took his right hand from behind his back and turned it so the brass knuckles he was wearing would catch the light. "I won't tell about your little Ginsu knife set if you won't tell about my knuckles. They're illegal in good old NY, but nobody's ever found 'em. Got them one time in France. Good country." Tony shot her a winning smile, then punched her in the face. Asfrid's jaw cracked, blood spilling from her mouth almost instantly. Tony took a deep, satisfied breath, and hit her again. He aimed for her stomach and ribs this time not caring that she was pregnant any more. He kept hitting her with the knuckles on, in the arms, the face, the ribs, stomach, thighs, anywhere he could get. He eventually took them off, threw them to the side, called to Clint for a bat, and caught an aluminum one the archer tossed through the air from the box.

"No, please," Asfrid choked out, her own blood dripping from her mouth, staining her clothes. Tony only gave her a quick, genuine looking smile, and swung the bat low from his hip, hitting Asfrid square in the stomach, making her cough and heave, blood splattering the floor of Stark Tower. "Well, now you've gone and made a mess of my floor." Tony hit her again. "What ever shall we do about," _swoosh_ "that?" Tony grunted as the light aluminum bat cut through the air, a rush of air whistling behind the shaft. Instead of hitting a ball like it was meant to and making an echoing sound, it hit flesh and bone making a dull thump on Asfrid's shin. She cried out in pain once more, before getting backhanded across the face by Tony. "Shut _up_! Oh my god, all you do is whine, whine, whine! I am sick-" _swoosh_ "and tired-" _clinkclinkclink_ "of you-" _slap_ "bitching and moaning all the damn time!" Tony screamed at Asfrid, throwing the bat away from him and resorting to his own hands as reliable torture devices.

Hours of torture passed, and every time Tony or Clint brought out a new thing to beat Asfrid with, Loki let out another strangled noise, and finally Steve growled in his ear, "Shut the hell up. This right here is all your fault. You got her into this mess, and there's no way you'll be able to get her out of it. How does it feel, Loki? To be helpless in front of the love of your miserable life? And now, because of you, she's going to die at the hands of the very people you pissed off." Loki's body shook with new silent sobs, somehow still crying after the many hours of watching Asfrid be beaten and bloodied by the two men across the room.

Clint joined Tony in front of Asfrid's chair again, a large knife held in one hand. He swung it up so the blade was shining the early morning sunlight into Asfrid's tearful purple eyes. "So sad. Boo-hoo, I'm crying," Clint deadpanned. He turned so that Asfrid and Loki had a clear view of each other and said, "Say your goodbyes, your prayers, your useless spells, whatever treacherous slutbags like you say before they die." Loki's eyes widened as far as they could and he began whispering, "No, no, no, no no no..." but Steve covered the pale mouth with a tanned hand.

"Nighty night, bitch," Clint snarled as he plunged the blade into Asfrid's stomach, dragging it sideways so the blood and innards could spill out into her own lap. She was only able to let out a gurgling noise from her throat as her head fell back and her own blood slid down her throat. "Guess that whole 'take over the worlds and have a pretty queen and some demonspawn' plan didn't really work out for you, huh?" Clint asked of Loki, walking over to him and wiping Asfrid's blood from the blade on Loki's coat. Loki made a disgusted face as his love's blood seeped into the material, and gagged when he was forced to look at the sight of Asfrid's dead body over and over again, her intestines lying in a pile on her lap, hanging out of her abdominal cavity.

"That's it for you two. No more evil plotting and secret babies for Loki and Asshat!" Tony smiled at Loki, and wiped the blood off of his hands onto the god's coat as well. Steve threw Loki's head down, Natasha hopped off the bar, and Tony and Clint packed up their box. Loki was finally able to be alone with a dead Asfrid still tied to the chair with bloody rope as more blood dripped steadily onto the floor. He took one last glance at the corpse and vomited, turning his head as much to the side as he could to keep it from getting on himself. The sound of the excess blood became the only thing Loki focused on afterwards, his own lamentations finished because he had gone hoarse cursing the Avengers repeatedly fifteen different ways to Sunday for hours. He sobbed, a broken sound, one filled the deafening silence Loki heard, despite the growing sound of New York traffic.


End file.
